Super Smash Bros Commission: Romance Edition!
by MessengerOfDreams
Summary: Have a romance story you've always wanted to see? Well, step right up and submit your couples, and read others as well! Newest story: To Describe My Love- How would I describe the one I love? Mystery couple!  Discontinued
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey, irony. This is all a big, long author's note.**

**So, yeah, most of this is copypasta from Colors, but I realized that tossing this in with a oneshot will not be the easiest way for people to see it, so I decided I'm gonna give this and the subsequent oneshots in one topic like Shockwave does it. I've gotten a request from Araceli L already, and I'll do that first. Anyway, here I am to cut it out of Colors (so don't request there anymore) and paste it into its own topic! **

**May I present to you "Super Smash Bros: Commission! Romance Edition!" Read as "Send me a commission!"**

**copypasta time WITH EDITS below**

**So I'm taking a sabbatical on that until mid to late June, and I'm going to use this time to, really, do whatever I have on whim to do.**

**You see, it's simple. I'm going to do a minor SPOILER ALERT, just to truly explain, but Strings is going to involve 90% of the characters in the character list, whether it be in cameos or starring roles, so I decided that I wanted to try one story with every character, just to get a feel for that.**

**So, I'm starting my own oneshot collection.**

**But I'm not doing it alone.**

**No, sir. In addition to my own whims for oneshots or short stories, I'm going to hold this topic for short romantic stories. Because when I get back to work on Strings, I want to have a wide audience. I have some of the most loyal reviewers on earth on my side already- shoutout to Araceli L, EggplantWitch, the Person of Awesomeness- just a few of the reviewers who have helped shape Strings as it is. But as conceited as it may sound, I want to go down as a legend of this section. That's my ultimate goal. **

**So, I'm going to start here with a oneshot of my choice, but then I want suggestions from you. I'll try anything, really. Any pairing, any characters, and do it in my fashion, even canon ones, yaoi/yuri, whatever you have in mind. I will have a pining for the more avant-garde pairings, but I'll be sure to consider all kinds. I'll have oneshots to try out my own personal ideas, but here, this is to get acquainted with all of you, and to test myself.**

**And even though I'm keen for trying new characters (see below for list of who I've done) I'm definitely not gonna complain if you want me to do ones I already had again- I'll embrace it wholeheartedly! So don't be shy! However, I'll be making a list of pairings I've done in order to not get dupes. It should also be noted that I'm not gonna do every request right off the bat. It's like with Twilight Okami's satire "Dial Snake For Women Advice." I'll look through the suggestions, get inspired, and do one of the suggestions, and maybe get back to yours later. **

**In order to not clog the topic up, I'm going to try and make the oneshots under 3000 words each, so it's compact, for one, and also because I'm requesting strongly (because **_**making it mandatory**_** just sounds mean) that you post a review with your request. It doesn't have to be a Souldin/Foxpilot review, but it cannot be an Emmy review like "omg this is great! Marth is so awesome! P.S. I did not read your story." (Stupendous Jimbo reference FTW).**

**Also, there are no restrictions. Straight, gay, not-quite-romantics, bromances, the bond between animal and human, a powerful friendship, serendipity, missed connections, it's really unlimited unless it's been done before or it's not a Smash Character. **

**For those of you keeping tabs, here's a list of characters I've done before.**

****In Strings****

****Luigi****

****Snake****

****Meta Knight****

****Yoshi/Melanthe (my muse for the Yoshi species)****

****Strings (smasher not declared, but I know who she is)****

****In Paradigms****

****Wario****

****Fox McCloud****

****Nana****

****Ganondorf****

****Ana (assist trophy)****

*****Hawke was one of the two main characters in the story; however, he was a crossover from Advance Wars who is a sticker in Brawl, so I can't say he counts as much as a Smash Bros character.****

****In Words and Action****

****Falco****

****Peach****

****In Sparks****

****Zelda****

****Mario****

****In Voice of the Mute****

****Mr. Game and Watch****

****Jigglypuff****

****In Beautiful Imperfections****

****Popo****

****In Colors****

****Lucario****

****Mewtwo****

****Now for a list of couples I've done before in some form prior to this and therefore may be a bit slow to redo.****

****Falco x Peach****

****Zelda x Mario****

****Lucario x Mewtwo****

****Popo x Nana****

****Mr Game and Watch x Jigglypuff****

****Not that those are couples done all the time. XD****

****Lastly, our first request from Araceli! I think I shalt provide a title sneak peek!****

****List of couples done before or being worked on-****

****Samus x Ike- Hopeless Romantic In Every Sense of the Term****

****What a title, right? XD So yeah, that's that.****

****One last term- I know I mentioned a planned 10********th******** story as celebration. Looking back, though, it seems more like something I'd like to perfect for a video project and so probably won't be written, but if I should ever make a video of ******_**Mad World, Good Life, **_******I will make it known!****

****I do, however, have a 10********th******** fic in planning! I better make it soon, too- not making more stories before this is gonna be a pain. ****

****So, go ahead and submit your stories! When I post Hopeless Romantic, I'll announce my first choice- feel free to submit sans review! (obviously)****

****Thanks!****

****MoD.****

****P.S. Oh wait. I gotta have a story here?****

****Uh...****

****Once upon a time Marth and Ike were playing Truth or Dare and found out- *is shot by Jimbo+****


	2. Viva La Vida

**A/N- You know that feeling you get when you realize the original story idea you had... pretty much blew? Had no composition, clarity, just a half-arsed concept that wasn't very good or original in itself? Well, that's what happened with my SamusxIke story for Araceli. Don't ask. It's a bit aggravating. :P**

**But worry not! I have come up with a new idea in its place, which shall be executed now! Ladies and Gentlemen; more specifically Araceli L, I present to you my first oneshot for the series, _Viva La Vida! _**

**(pauses for a moment to listen to Coldplay fans rejoice)**

**Yep, we all knew I liked music, but I never quite did a songfic- and Audience: An Artist's Story doesn't quite count, it's a musicfic. :P The song won't be Viva La Vida itself, it will primarily be _Death and All His Friends, _but that wasn't really the proper story title. It's not gonna be overwhelmingly lyric based (since the lyrics are sparse in this song) but it's gonna be based off of the story told in the song, as well as elements of two other Coldplay songs, _Violet Hill _and _The Escapist_. It's sort of AU, but not entirely. Samus lives in Crimea instead of in space and the story, although in the FE nations, takes place in the 21st century type times. Also, in order to utterly contradict more of what I said, this story is going to be reaaaally long for a oneshot. Just goes to show you- don't trust me. XD**

**Enough yap from me- enjoy!**

**oOoooOoooOooIooOoooOooOo**

_**Viva La Vida**_

_**a Samus and Ike story**_

_**for Araceli L**_

_**by MessengerOfDreams**_

**oOooOoooOooIooOoooOooOo**

It was a long and dark December, and on the rooftops I remember there was snow, and a lot of it. White snow, pure white. Not the sort of rocky, crunchy grayish-white stuff that didn't seem enough like snow more than frozen sky. It was soft, white, and completely pure of blemish, as if someone had poured fresh coconut shavings over the town.

I never was one to really worry about the weather; I was much too practical for that. But even I had to admit that the complete anomaly of the weather seemed almost like it could be a good omen. Not a thought I entertained that much; I never really believed the notion of things being out of my control. I didn't like things being out of my control.

Whether I liked it or not, the good omen persisted. And I have to admit, it was a blessing.

I spent a lot of time on rooftops, more than the average person should. Maybe it was my strange attraction to the snow, or maybe it was that omen subconsciously urging me forward. Maybe it was my fondness for heights; to go through the city and peer down on all the poor, unfortunate souls as they froze down below. I guess it was the whole long and dark December thing putting a strain in their spirits that even St. Nick was having trouble wrinkling out.

I wasn't one to worry about the weather influencing my emotions or little things out of my control. Made no sense to me. So impractical.

I was on top of the tallest building in the town of Violet Hill. A moderately sized town, simple and clean. Practical. Like me. The tallest building, 42 North Cemetery, had a (by now useless) small patio up on its roof, entirely covered in the soft layer of snow that I had no intents to impact other than my gloved hand print. I always sat on the corner of the building, over Cemetery Drive, on the spot where today there happened to be a tall, blue-haired man sitting already.

That day I didn't bother to tell him to move; I did it for him. Wordlessly I jerked him out of the way, on the roof and off of the ledge, and took his place.

"Hello, Samus," he told me expressionlessly.

"Hello, Ike," I replied with equal monotone.

It wasn't an uncommon experience for Ike Greil to be on the rooftops as well. He enjoyed that type of thing. What was uncommon; rare, more likely, was to run into him anywhere. What never happened was us exchanging more than a wave outside of the rooftop of 42 North Cemetery. On the rooftops, I remember, was where we communicated and interacted.

And the odd thing was, I never questioned it before.

By all accounts, we never should have gotten along so well or been able to relate to each other so well. I remember the first time we met. It was almost identical to this. When I had gone up to the roof that day, he was there, and I simply sat down next to him and started talking, as if we'd already known each other for awhile. We hadn't.

But he and I shared one thing. We were both wearing dog tags.

I'd recognize those telltale army necklaces anywhere. We had both been in combat. Violet Hill was part of Crimea, and Crimea had been in war with Daein. We were both of the patriotic sort, so we both registered in the army, he at twenty-two, myself at twenty. We had never ran into each other or even heard of each other, but we had been in the same war nonetheless.

I couldn't say Ike had any underlying intent for going to war- he was simply a skilled sword fighter. I, however, had revenge on the mind. My parents had died in Daein at the hands of a bandit, and I had hated the whole nation ever since; it didn't help that their officials seemed to take no interest in solving the case; finding the bandit or doing anything to help. It didn't matter because they and Crimea were on tense terms to begin with. I was only fifteen at the time, and I struck out on my own. I didn't dare turn to others for help; I wanted nothing to do with anyone.

The war ended just a year ago, and five years since I had signed up. And that was that. No winners, no losers. My appetite for revenge was never quite sated, but it wasn't my sole focus anymore.

Either way, it was the bond of war that got us talking. And that's the way it was. I didn't question it. It didn't matter.

Ike scrambled across the roof to claim a seat to my right, as per the norm. We peered down, watching the mirthless people shuffle across the ground. Even a couple hundred feet up, we could tell that they weren't enjoying the weather.

He was aware of this. "Ho, ho, ho," he muttered, devoid of any joy. I could see out the corner of my eye, though, that he was smiling, and deduced that he was dryly mocking the depressing dots below. I granted him a sparse chuckle.

"I don't actually get it," he sighed, reclining on his elbows ever so slightly. "The weather isn't actually that bad."

"I actually quite like it," I admitted.

"Hmm?" he cocked his head at me, tossing his subtle spikes of hair along with it. I could see his interest peaking at my statement; even he knew me well enough to question my statement about sentimentality over something so small.

"I dunno, really," I shrugged, turning the slightest red and hoping he didn't notice. "I just think it's a nice change from usual snow." I scooped up a slight bit in my glove and elaborated "See? This is storybook snow. Not... normal snow."

Ike chuckled a bit. "I always thought you liked things plain and practical."

With an annoyed wrinkle of the eyebrow, I tossed the snow at his face. Him having lightning fast reflexes, though, he blocked it with his own large palm, and it limply collapsed onto the ground from whence it came. I sighed. "Y'see, that's the thing. I'm... rather surprised by how much I like this snow."

"It's called being human, Samus," he replied, but not mockingly or accusingly. Almost... comfortingly, reassuringly.

"I didn't know I struck you as so inhumane," I held back a pout.

"You're only as inhumane as you make yourself."

I nodded, not looking at him. "You know I'm not a scathing, short tempered bitch," I muttered, if only to appease myself.

"Never said you were," his response to that was tired, as if he was wondering what I wasn't getting. Ike was sort of easy to read

"Then what do you think makes me so inhumane?"

My words were irritated, terse, but it wasn't so much at his words to me as they were from self-conflict. Ike sighed loudly, but said nothing more, as if he was trying to cognate an answer. While he reclined back further, I slumped forward, my ponytail draped in my lap. If I were to shift my balance any further forward I'd probably fall head first off the roof.

How fitting. While he wasn't exactly a hippie he was definitely laid back, and here I was. Echoed. Tense. Exhausted. Hollow. Not depressed or downhearted, but hollow nonetheless.

He put a firm hand on my shoulder, and before I knew it he had tilted me be back so that I was lying next to him. I wasn't a touchy-feely person, but when he touched me, I shuddered slightly. Not out of cold, but from surprising warmth. I put forward a slight, guarded attempt at resisting but I decided it wasn't worth the effort.

He was facing me when my head descended on the snow, and he has an indeterminable expression on his face. His mouth is straight, turned in neither a northern or southern direction, and his eyes were simply firm, not betraying emotion. He could have been amused, angry, frustrated, manic, gleeful; really, anything. Even though I could usually read him, when he closes up there's no opening him by force, even for me. The only determinate I had was the warm hand on my shoulder, restraining me but not against my will.

He always did have a very handsome face. No point in dancing around it or denying it. He looked very dashing.

I returned his look best I can, but he was always better at reading me when I closed up than when I was open. He didn't address whatever he thought I was feeling, but he did ask me "What do you live for?"

"Hm?" I was unprepared for his question. He was always prepared, but I never was. Something else to separate us, but truth is, we never were that different. We both shared sensibility, we were both grounded, we were both practical, although him not anywhere near to the extent that I was. More similar than on first glance.

He let out a slight smile and a hint of amusement when I respond so lamely. "I just wonder what keeps you going, what you look forward to. What you spend your days doing that, you know, defines your life."

Goddamn it, Ike. I chuckled nervously, because I knew I didn't have an answer.

It wasn't that I was suicidal, it was just that I didn't really occupy my time with... well, anything. I sort of drifted through the days. Transparent. Just sort of... there.

"You don't have an answer, do you?"

"Go to hell." I'm angrier than I suspected, annoyed that he caught me, aggravated that he was trying to figure me out.

"You don't," he confirmed, and his smile, instead of widening like I predicted, simmered down into the unreadable expression, as if he was calling back his emotions like a dog fetching information for him.

"You're sure trying to break walls of my thoughts down today, aren't you, Cobb?" I grumble, wanting to smack that expression off his face. True, I was never a belligerent person, but it was so angering that he was trying to break into my subconscious.

"Repressing walls, guarding walls, fourth walls, I'm breaking them all down today," he said lazily. "Right, guys?"

In a flash of a second, I had examined the area around me only to find no one there. "Ha ha," I grumbled.

"Made you look," he smirked.

"Okay then, Confucius," I growled, wanting him to just stop. "What do you live for?"

His smirk morphed into a smile, and while he still had a hand on my shoulder, I see his other hand above his waist, moving around but never going too far away from him, as if it was looking for somewhere to rest.

"Opportunity," is all he said, his grin wistful. He was never usually so flighty or in the clouds, so it was unusual to see him like that.

"Opportunity?" I gave him an incredulous look.

"Yep. Simply, to find opportunities to enjoy life. Anywhere, anytime. That's why I like you; you didn't think twice to start talking to me."

"Okay, cut to the chase, what's your point here?" I was about sick of all this philosophy crap.

He finally put his other gentle hand on my skyward shoulder. "I dunno," he admitted. He wasn't smiling or at his baseline face. In fact, he seemed a bit sad as he held my gaze. "Really, it's sort of... I guess I just don't like seeing you so..." he sighed, and I could practically see him stumbling on words.

Groaning, I wrestled out of his unresisting grasp and start to sit back up. "God's sakes, if you're going to intrude on my psyche, at least know what you're going to say."

"Empty." his response was amid my sentence.

Halfway up, I sigh and drop back down next to him, not caring that my head slammed against the concrete through the half-inch thick snow with measurable force. He winced but turned me back towards him. There was something about his touch that struck me- he was forceful, controlling, but not manically or overtly so. He was gentle, unassuming, not denying me control while still taking some of his own.

He sighed as he faced me again. Our faces were dangerously close but I thought nothing of it. His eyes were striking as they penetrated through mine, as if he was looking into my soul. It would have been haunting were it anyone else, but he was gentle about it.

"I guess it just is... a bit painful to see you looking... for a purpose. For... something to be. Considering how much... potential you have." I couldn't help but note how much of a struggle it seemed to voice his thoughts, as if they were things in his own subconscious that he drew from mine, and my gaze was reflecting them back to him. "You're... quite a person, Samus."

I sighed as night started to fall. It was only three-thirty, but I think you'd understand by now what a long and dark December this was. "Look, Ike," I told him with as much force and distance as I could muster, "I can take care of myself."

"I know, I know," he replied, blinking in a spastic burst of surprise. "I just want to... revive you." As soon as he said that, he closed his mouth, as if he wish he hadn't.

With good reason, too. His words were really starting to aggravate me. "Revive me?" It took all my energy not to start ranting and to keep a cool head. "I don't need anyone to 'revive me' or 'save me' or anything like that. I don't need your hero-boy antics, so if you'll excuse me." I didn't finish my sentence, I just sat back up for the last time, hanging back over the roof and shaking snow out of my blonde locks.

Ike sighed but said nothing, and his head sank a bit deeper into the snow. It came up to his ears. I felt a bit of regret for shutting him out like that, but he could get in line of people who wanted to get me to open up.

"Sorry," he mumbled, quiet to a point of barely audible. I didn't respond, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a pout on his face, of all things. I tried to hide a smirk but I think I failed.

He didn't say anything but he pulled out of the snow and sat up next to me. He refused to lay a hand on me, and I couldn't tell whether I appreciated or missed that. He just looked forward, and so I found it fit to do the same.

I glanced to my side at him, and noticed how deep in contemplation he was. Sort of like the statue of The Thinker, but with better hair. Heh, I apologize. I had to indulge myself there, just that one time.

I studied him, but he made no move to motion towards me or acknowledge me. He was stone still. I sighed and asked "What are you thinking about?" In retrospect, shutting him out of my thoughts and then demanding his probably wasn't the best move but he didn't point this out.

He didn't face me, but in a flat tone asked me "Do you want the straight answer or the non-sappy answer."

"Surprise me."

With an unlabeled glint in his eye, he smiled slightly and chuckled "I was just... admiring your beauty in the winter moonlight."

Well. He certainly didn't go for the non-sappy answer.

He noticed my eyes widen and flinched a bit with a nervous grin of accomplishment on his face. That alone made me sigh. "Christ, Ike, I'm..." I was at a loss. "I'm not gonna kill you."

"I know," he replied, throwing his hand in the air. "It wasn't about that. I just know I sounded like an idiot right there."

"Meh..." I had nothing to say. I was too busy sorting through the comment. I glanced at him. He was back to looking out off the building, but I could read disappointment in his glazed stare.

Okay. If he wanted me to open up, fine. I'd open up. A little bit.

"What, I don't look intimidating to you?" Well, that was as good as getting me to open up was about to get- me trying to hide it in a jab. Count it as lucky or unlucky, my face wore the... ache I truly felt.

He gave me an eyebrow raise that looked like an attempt at suave. "No, I don't. I just told you that you were beautiful. Were you looking for intimidating instead?"

"You look ridiculous," I scowled, but he actually looked somewhat endearing.

He let his eyebrow rest. "No, actually, I don't find you intimidating. I find you weary. But last time I tried to tell you this, you weren't very receptive. At all."

I sighed and threw my hands into my lap. "Alright, then. Tell me whatever the hell it is that's bugging you so much." I slumped forward again.

He looked at me, and in his eyes... I couldn't help but stare at him for a considerable amount of time because, for once, I couldn't tell what was in his eyes. But something was there, and he returned my gaze for a full minute and then some, as if I held something for him as well.

He didn't say anything either. He just held my gaze. It was almost hypnotic, and I don't mean like I was swooning for him. Staring directly into one's eyes was a very unsettling, remarkable experience. You just get... lost. Not in your thoughts, not in your heart, not in his gaze even; at least not for me. You just get lost.

"Well?" I asked, this time without frustration. "Aren't yo-"

My words were interrupted by the loud, system-shocking thought of _wait a second he's kissing me. _And the reason I was thinking that thought was because... well, he was. We both sat in the exact place as before, only he had my lips between his, not touching me in any other way, and I was sitting there, wide-eyed, in shock. I clumsily, instinctively tried returning it, but I wasn't very good.

Gradually he let go and faced me. I was nearly frozen in a look of bewilderment as he gave me a smile. This smile was slight, gentle and lacked the nerves and flinch his others did. I think it was because he knew his point was made loud and clear. Gently his hand crept onto mine, fallen at my side, and he held my gaze again, but before we could return to our prior state, quietly, was the first time he told me "I love you... my friend."

There are many ways to say that you love someone. What I usually heard, though, whether in movie or books or anywhere, really, is those three words followed by... some adjective of how one looks. A compliment on one's beauty. It was extremely disarming to hear that followed by words such as "my friend." What I heard was that it wasn't just my beauty he was proclaiming about me earlier that made him love me, it was the fact that I was there, that I was his friend. And the look in his eyes from earlier... what passion that would usually have been there since, in retrospect, his intent was this proclamation, it was sincerity. I could read all the more clearly as he said those words that there was a sincerity, honesty, that no matter how he went about it, was there.

Taking all of this into account, you'd understand why I smiled back and gave a kiss of my own.

I had come to find in the weeks to come, as the snow reached the ground at long last, that when you're freshly in love with someone, you wonder about them. Not just think about them, but wonder. Wonder what they like to eat, what their favorite colors are, wonder what they think of foreign drama films; at least if you didn't know already. I never really had to wonder that much about Ike, because throughout December, we spent every day together.

Really, what else were we supposed to do?

I hadn't found employment yet, nor had Ike, so we really had nothing better to do with our time than to spend it with each other, but really, there was nothing in the world better that we could bide our time with.

I'd always wondered what happened after a first kiss. As far as I knew, the screen faded to black and the credits ran, or the scene changes into the next chapter. When I wasn't looking for work I was watching a lot of movies or reading a lot of books. Apparently, what happened after a first kiss was sitting next to each other, my face extremely red and his hand gently in my hair, and then us, for the first time, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, other forms of contact- I even got his Skype, and I don't have a webcam.

I guess you could say we were moving too fast, and if I had been on the outside looking in on our relationship blossoming, I'd have said the same thing. But for some reason, it didn't matter. Just go with it and see what happens, you know? And really, I was entirely unprepared, albeit welcome, for the coming weeks, for the relationship ahead, for falling in love, and I could tell Ike was as well. There was no time leading up to it; our time on the roof excluded; there were no final realizations, there were no rehearsed lines. It just happened to both of us, and we acted upon it.

It seemed like we were like a sunflower, growing several inches a day. A sunflower in the winter, but still blooming nonetheless. And even practical me wasn't regretting a day of it. I loved him. I truly did. I had been in a few short relationships before and never had the urge, even in my longest relationships, to go this fast. We weren't perfect, but that made it more meaningful. No finishing each other's sentences; I had tried on a whim once and had said the completely opposite of what Ike was going to. We had argued fiercely one night over I can't remember now, but it was never drastic, relationship-threatening in my mind. We simply were fighting. We were human.

It felt more real than any relationship I'd ever been in.

I remember how on the twenty-third, he asked me to come with him to one of his favorite places in the city. I couldn't pass off the opportunity; he seemed so happy when he told me about it. Also, I felt the need to find a new place other than the rooftop, a place we had abandoned for the sake of each other's houses, out in the city. Sort of like a special place where we could mark the progression of our relationship.

And thus, on the morning of the twenty-third, he and I were driving through the city in my small, unnoticeable sedan up to the city's namesake, Violet Hill.

I was halfway up the final stretch of the hill before he was a quarter way. I looked back down with a light smirk and a wave, and let him catch up to me. In playful retaliation, upon approaching me he picked me up like one would hold a child and started to carry me up the hill. Amid my protests, I laughed, oh how I laughed! Giggling like a young schoolgirl and not like a grown soldier not even a year off combat. It was... renewing.

He set me down under a dead oak tree on the top. There was a single, bold violet amid the snow. I had to admire its tenacity to stay within the snow, its unwillingness to die down or leave.

Violet Hill was just shy of a short mountain- it was fifty miles distant of the central city but in its height of two thousand feet a notable enough landmark to link to its nearest city. And the view up top was remarkable. The city was a speck on the edge of an appropriate angle and all you could see was the snow. It was as if one had tripped into heaven without knowing about it.

I leaned against the barren oak with a smile as I overlooked the fields dreamily. Ike chuckled when he saw the glaze in my emeralds; he had been accustomed to how much I (apparently) drift off in my thoughts. He gently reclined my head against his shoulder, and I sighed in content. While some preferred long walks on the beach, I preferred- prefer, really- reclining on a snow covered hill. I felt the snow seep into my pants, leaving them soaked around the leg openings and scraping against my calf; even in all my practicality I hadn't thought to wear long johns that day.

I guess I was just sort of excited.

"I knew you'd like it," he whispered into my ear.

"I do," I placed a hand on his lap, not quite present still.

"It is a remarkable view," he chuckled, his hand drifting over mine until it came to a stop on top of it. "During the harvest is remarkable as well. The patchwork of colors and plants really makes it quite a sight."

"I dunno," I replied, still somewhat entranced. "I like the snow, a lot."

"I figured you did," he chuckled. "You're sort of a cold person, after all."

I put enough effort into looking over at him with a raised, incriminating eyebrow. "I'm coming to find that telling a woman that she is a cold person isn't exactly what she wants to hear."

"I never said it was a bad thing," his response is devoid any defensiveness that a lesser man would have had. I like that about Ike; he's solid in his convictions, even if they annoy me.

"Cold is a good thing?"

He shrugged and, pulling me against his chest, added "Well, it's a lot of fun, melting your heart."

I couldn't help but be somewhat swooned by this; I'm only human after all. I softly kissed him with another giggle. My, but was I changing!

He grinned and pulled me to my feet, and about as excited as a kid showing off, pointed to the top of the tall, dead oak. "Up there! See that nest?" The conversation change was sudden, but welcome, as I looked and saw a crow roosting in a nest. I always liked crows; they were very no-nonsense. Ike looked up to the nest and called "Hey, Isadora! Down here!"

Atop the nest, a small crow flew down onto Ike's shoulder. I was rather amused by this; she looked very... fitting, up there, as if she was there often. I figured this may have been Ike's 'pet'.

"Hah, this bird has the best ability to track one's voice I've ever seen, really. I can call it anytime, anywhere, and within the hour she's on my shoulder. It's remarkable."

"Quite. Anywhere, anytime?"

"Even when I don't expect it," he added, and with a laugh, recapped "One time I was in the middle of a farmer's market when she arrived on my shoulder; twenty minutes after I had called her and forgotten about it. Scared the _hell _out of me! Jumped back into a big basketful of tomatoes. Very unpleasant."

I really regretted not having seen that; I was doubling over with laughter, this conjured image something that'd make me laugh just on the thought. With mock annoyance, he mocked sarcastic laughter- mocking a mocking person; quite paradoxical- and snapped "Yeah, yeah, very funny." I knew that he was just messing around, though. The smile in his eyes would give it away no matter what.

"So..." he gave me an eyebrow raise and a mischievous grin, "Wanna teach Isadora your voice?"

"Hmm?" I looked at the elegant crow meaningfully, and it was looking back at me. "How did you do it? I mean, teach her the name you gave her and everything?"

"Oh?" he allowed Isadora to take flight a few feet above us, steadily hovering near her nest. "I spent a lot of time here and so did she. I became very bored so I came up with a name and whenever I was near the crow, repeated the name towards her. Apparently she's a damn smart bird and figured it out; I can't really say. Nature confuses me."

He called her back down, and she dove down onto the shoulder. "Don't be shy, call her!" Ike urged me, his grin growing wider.

"Uh... how?"

"Just call her like you would someone you were looking for. Don't baby talk it like a kitten; that annoys the hell out of her." To give us some distance, he walked backwards so that there was a twenty foot gap between us.

"Okay," I cleared my throat and called out "Isadora!"

Isadora cocked her head at me but didn't move. Knowingly, Ike gave a sideways, amused look to the crow and told her "Oh? She's a friend to you. No worries." To demonstrate his lack of nature knowledge; unwitting or not, he pointed at me and gave the bird a thumbs up.

As if to say that she wasn't _that _dull, she pecked his hand, which he jerked back in surprise. I couldn't help but spare a laugh at that.

I tried again. "Isadora!" I called, a smile on my face.

She cocked her head but nonchalantly flew over onto my shoulder, pecking my ear without much force. I didn't bother reacting.

"Ah! She's got you in her system. Trusts you. Good progress, especially for someone so new to her! You must have a good aura!"

I chuckled, gently stroking Isadora on the top of her head. "She's a fine ally indeed. What else does she do?"

"Well, not much, but I'm not looking to train a circus act," he smiled crookedly. "I do think I shall train her on your name as well, and use her as a messenger between the both of us."

"Interesting concept..." I couldn't help but feel a fleeting omen at that statement.

Ike smiled again, closing the gap between us until we were less than a foot apart. I settled against his chest, and he wrapped his arm- Isadora and all- around my chest, placing his face alongside mine. To my surprise, I sighed in delight; so unlike me. It just felt very serendipitous; running into Ike on the roof, and just starting off so easily; so effortlessly. And I was forever thankful for it. It was... bliss, standing on the hill above a world of white with the man I loved, and I couldn't help but take in how lucky I was.

He gave me a smile and said "Well, as much as I could stay by your side forever, let's not fool ourselves. The world's out of our control and we can't be glued to each other forever, it just makes no common sense."

How frank of him. I actually liked it; he wasn't drowning in sentimentalism. I guess there are some parts of love that are practical, and it keeps it real, knowing that it's not a fairy tale and I liked that Ike didn't expect it to be. I wasn't that kind of girl.

"Either way, if I ever get lost from you too drastically, I'll always find my way back," a hint of world-weariness that only soldiers like ourselves could possess, and I smiled with a hint of comfort that wasn't overwhelming or with pity, just support and recognization. "Isadora here will be our link, because she can travel in a way we can't."

I thought this was extremely sweet and thanked him with a quick kiss to the cheek. He smiled and took my hand in his.

Life was about to get better.

He put my hand in his, but only for a brief moment, and before he removed his grip he planted a small kiss on my knuckle; a knuckle which was no longer bare.

I guess you could say I was shocked when I looked down to see a small, simple ring on my finger, but unlike most I didn't break down crying from ecstasy or in shock; mind you, part of me wanted to but I didn't. I looked up at him and he didn't adjust his hold on me. I smiled, a more sincere smile than I ever had before. Even in my childhood where everything was perfect. Because come what may everything seemed perfect now.

"We're getting very carried away," I chuckled, not that I cared. When you're in love, you learn that practicality doesn't apply there.

"I don't care if you don't."

"I don't."

"Sorry the ring wasn't as nice as I'd wanted." I guess he could be considered right; the ring is simple, smooth silver, but it didn't matter to me.

"It serves its purpose," I replied, feeling the smooth surface with my thumb. "It reminds me of the snow right now."

"That's good to hear," I could hear his grin; so easy it is for me to determine his emotion. "So you'll marry me?"

"Gladly."

He held me closer to his body, pulling in for a kiss which I was happy to reciprocate. In retrospect, I look back and wonder what was so different this time. Had any of my prior romancers asked me to marry him three weeks in and I'd have probably wondered what was up with him. But, really, I didn't question things. I didn't want too. No- I didn't need to.

I think that's what made me so happy.

After the kiss, he separated from me and reclaimed the distance in order to train Isadora a bit more. I could hear him telling the dark avian as he gestured to me "That's Samus. My dearest companion. I want you to pay attention to her, because she's going to be as important to you as she is to me. When I tell you 'find Samus'," he gestured to me again, with a soaring hand similar to a bird's flight, "I want you to fly off from me and find her, no matter the distance." Such a strenuous order was followed by a friendly, trusting "Think you can do that, Izzy?"

In response, she flew back over to me with a triumphant caw. Ike gave her a thumbs up and said "That's the spirit. Isadora, back here!"

She gracefully glided onto his shoulder with another caw. One last time, he told her "Find Samus." She instantly made her way back to me.

"Okay, Samus, train her to find me!" Ike called.

I nodded and faced the bird. "Okay, Isadora. Just like Ike sent you to me, I want you to find Ike when I say, 'Find Ike.'" With a thankful sigh, I add "Thank you, Isadora. You have no idea how much this means to me." And it did mean so much, to have such a smart, willing creature that would bridge the gap between us. I stroked her feathers one last time before telling her "Find Ike."

She cawed and flew back to her trainer. I swear, she was smiling as much as a bird could.

We spent a minute playing crow tennis, so to speak. Having her fly back and forth between us. A lesser bird would get frustrated and probably lash out, but Isadora cheerfully complied. After we were sure she got it, Ike came back over to me and accepted her perch on his shoulder.

"We're as lucky as it gets," he spoke fondly. "This crow is smarter than I ever imagined birds could be. She understands our tongue, she's loyal, she complies with a good spirit; really, animals are more intelligent than humans sometimes."

"You're a vegetarian." Not a question, a statement.

"Indeed," he replied. He didn't go on to preach, thank God, but I knew I was never going to be able to eat chicken again.

I couldn't help but smile as he boasted about her. It was touching to speak so fondly of his companion; true, not as fondly as he felt of me (or that I could ever find logical reason to be jealous of a bird), and it truly stuck. I understood what he meant of opportunity; he turned a running into a bird and turned it into the glue that would hold our relationship together if necessary.

It was the example of how, despite how fast we got into things, this was going to work. I was truly convinced. It felt amazing to have things work out so well, and it truly couldn't get any better.

It was a long and dark December. The last week was the longest of all.

I should have seen the downturn in our fortunes coming; the snow was no longer pure and dirt chunks were seeping in. It had become rather gray the day I walked down North Cemetery Drive.

In school, I remember my third grade history teacher talking about how Crimea used to be a peaceful nation that avoided war. I had told my teacher "That can't be right." The idea was so flabbergasting that I debated the teacher for a few minutes before being sent to the principal's office. Really, though, I think I had said what everybody was thinking. Crimea's feud with Daein was about ridiculous; not that it mattered to me, really.

Not that you'd expect much different from a place where the biggest building in one of its largest cities was on North Cemetery Drive.

On the twenty-seventh I was walking into the Violet Hill Credit Union, to draw some more out of my dwindling savings account. When I stepped in the door and the electronic, lifeless ding-dong rang through my ears, it echoed through the room. It was not lively with polite chatter as was the norm. In fact, the teller in his booth had his head bowed, and on the floor, in chairs, were people knelt, head down.

They were praying. The bank had practically become a cathedral.

The teller was leading the session. I didn't hear him very well, but on a hopelessly strewn newspaper I read the headline- Tensions with Daein at All Time High! It was not sounding good. I picked up the cover and started to read.

I had only seen the lines "After a brutal attack on Melior, King Jasper declares that he shall rally his forces in another attack-" when I heard the teller mutter "please, God, be with all our returning servicemen" when I piece two and two together and, panicked, run out the door, leaving the newspaper and its curse to rot in hell for all I cared.

I started running up Cemetery Drive, hoping for an escape, any escape. For this not to have been happening. As I passed 42 North Cemetery Drive, I saw that Ike's car was parked; a small, slender blue truck with a modern feel. I opened the door without a word and he started driving away.

It was like on the roof; we weren't surprised to see each other here. We just knew.

On our way up to what I knew was to be Violet Hill, neither of us spoke. How could we start that conversation? I couldn't even admit to myself that he and I would be going back into military service.

Our walk to the tree was silent. No giggling as he swept me off my feet and up the hill. The world had just become a burden instead of a sanctuary. How I wish I could fly above it all, away from everyone, everything, except Ike. I never wanted to admit that I needed a man; I was too proud of a feminist for that, but I did need him, even if I didn't depend on him, he was part of my life, part of me. It was just being human, I suppose.

We collapsed wearily under the broken shade of the bare branches. The violet was still there, and I desperately wished that, like it, I could stay. Not be moved back into the battles.

Not to fight from beginning to end, living in constant terror of whether I'd live through the night and then have to worry about Ike as well. Not having to kill more people and their love having to suffer their loss.

Not to have to cycle recycled revenge. I didn't want to kill more people because they killed someone on our side when we're all being forced into this anyways. I didn't care about who killed my parents; he wasn't worth my time, my soul.

I didn't want to follow death and all of his friends; revenge, transparency, hardening of the heart, loss of self.

I don't want to follow death and all of his friends.

I can't.

He reclined my head against his shoulder, and it felt all the more painful since I knew it wasn't going to happen again for a long time. Even on the slight chance that we did stay together through the battles, there would be no way we would be able to truly be together, to love. This was war; you couldn't be weak through war.

I never found the nerve to speak. The only time I tried, I fell apart, dissolving into tears. I never wanted to cry; to be so weak. I didn't want to be falling apart like this. But I couldn't help the pain this caused, and it was overwhelming. He didn't question or respond; he simply held me as close as he could and gently squeezed my hand as my walls crumbled. I thought it would release my burden but it just made me feel worse.

That first day, we never spoke of our fate. We couldn't. We were trying desperately to sort through it all. I never broke down like this afterward.

The next few days we accepted it. Promised to never drift apart, even miles and miles away. That Isadora would, after all, be an emergency link. We'd go through the motions of war and hope it was over soon, and visit during our off-time. He got a matching ring to mine. We were determined this would work.

On the last day of the long and dark December, we were recruited by Crimea's army. We were separated to different forts. And the battles began.

_**Prologue**_

_**The Escapist**_

It was the worst decision I ever had made.

It took everything in me not to break down during the battles. I was required to grow the hard shell again, and that was the last thing I wanted to do, but I wouldn't make it through the war otherwise.

In desperation, three weeks in, I punched an officer in an attempt to be honorably discharged. But Crimea doesn't lose soldiers that way. Instead they gave me three days solitary confinement. It was the most painful experience in my life. It left me hollow afterward, which was hard to shake off. Thirst for war aside, the Crimea army wasn't evil or anything, it was practical. Doing what it must for war. And I hated them for it.

When I noticed that I was hardening again, returning to my former self, I knew I couldn't stay here any longer under any circumstances.

And so I escape the camp.

It was simple to do. Crimea doesn't like to suffocate its army so it doesn't do an extreme job at keeping us in check, and I am able to sneak out easily. When I am sure I was a distance away, I run. I run for two straight hours, straight ahead, and my mind is full of worry. What if he's still in camp, not sharing my mad rationale? What if I truly lose him? It is the only time I will ever doubt him, but circumstance has a big play in that doubt.

And then I stop. I stop in my tracks and call her.

"Isadora!" I call in the barren fields. "Isa-"

I am interrupted by her crashing into me, causing me to lose my balance but not fall over. I'm surprised by how close by she is.

I smile, petting her feathers. "You're amazing, Is," I tell her.

She responds my dropping a paper in my open hand. I feel it as it descends and eagerly open it. What I read makes all my reconstructing walls tumble, my doubts fade and my heart shine.

"_And in the end, I lie awake and dream of making our escape._

_I've just started to put it into action._

_ -IG."_

Call it serendipity, a friend I had by now welcomed, call it fate, call it the bond between us lovers. But he was out. And we were going to escape. I try not to cry and compose myself.

I face the bird, and tell her "Find Ike." She responds by flying off her perch, and, knowingly, flying at a speed I could keep up with.

We are going to make it. We are going to escape.

Death and all his friends would never catch us.

Today, I Viva La Vida.

**A/N There is something about a cliffhanger that, however frustrating, allures me. It's an open door. You decide what happens next. Whether it be happy, sad or completely unexpected, I have relinquished my control. It's up to them now.**

**I'm... exceedingly proud of this piece. It's gorgeous. I can't believe how well it turned out for my first explicit romance (explicit meaning, in this case, strong, not just a subtle introduction but an exploration into the romance.) I'm not trying to brag on myself... but I'm proud. Here's hoping that I don't jinx myself.**

**I do have a few notes to share, just for insight and info.**

**Before you review, I advise you listen to the songs or at least check out the lyrics, just because it explains some of my choices, mainly, why Samus x Ike's romance moved so fast.**

**The more I worked on this, I realized that my interpretation of Samus reminds me a bit of Katniss Everdeen, heroine of the Hunger Games series and my favorite heroine, just over Violet Baudelaire. Also, watching Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in X-Men: First Class has me pumped for the Hunger Games movie- she's incredible. **

**In here is a big yet subtle reference to A Series of Unfortunate Events that bigger fans (ohai Souldin) would recognize. If you don't read those books, you should, but in my P.S. I'll spoil the reference, just to shed a little light. This is sort of a mini-commentary, after all.**

**At the end, the shift from past to present tense is intentional. Trust me, if it wasn't, the whole story'd be littered with accidental tense changes (I still fear there may be a few.) The prologue's supposed to be in the moment, and the rest her narration.**

**I actually have no idea how exactly crows work; I wanted Isadora to be a remarkable creature, so I kind of made my own rules, as well as coinciding with the ASOUE nod.**

**I reserve the right to edit this segment with stuff I realized I had forgotten.**

**As for the commission-y aspect of my job, due to popular demand the next one is going to be LinkxLyn. I'm still debating what to do with this; as much as I like Alternate Universe fics I don't wanna only do those; I don't wanna be a one-note. I'm not gonna confirm a title, but I have a general idea.**

**Also, I have a separate fic in mind for you SamusxLink fans, but I won't be posting it here, reason being it will deal with the controversial viewpoint of suicide in a controversial way that even I don't necessarily agree with; sometimes people come to you with stories in your head and you feel obliged to tell it for them. Now don't get me wrong, I have no fears or qualms being controversial if necessary, but seeing as the rule is, again, to review if you want to send in a commission, I don't wanna make you review something that makes you feel uncomfortable. **

**One last thing to Souldin- I really like the idea of a Dark LinkxMetal Mario story, and will tackle it, but I'll admit I don't think I have the chops or the idea just yet to take on a big task like that; rest assured, it will be done. **

**Well, that's _Viva La Vida! _Sincerely hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Remember, to send in a commission, I do request that you put in at least a couple sentences worth of a review. If you don't, I'll send you a polite PM explaining that you forgot the rules and that you need to send in a review before I will accept your couple into consideration; I'm not a staunch guy, so I'll be chill, yet firm. Like Emma Frost. :3 (I really, really liked X-Men: First Class.)**

**Thanks for bearing with my fifteen-page fic! Hope it's not an inconvenience for you to have to had read all that to send in a request- I'm not sorry, though. I think the story needed it. Either way, thanks for the loyalty!**

**Ciao!**

**MoD **

**P.S. Remember that ASOUE reference? Well, here's the symbolism. In the 7th book, the Vile Village, imprisoned poet Isadora Quagmire sent short poems on behalf of her and her brother via one of the many crows that resided around the area of the Village of Fowl Devotees. Hence, her using the crows as her messengers inspired me to name the messenger crow after her.**


	3. The First Page

**A/N Hey, it's your lucky day! This story isn't 10,000 words long!**

**-everyone cheers-**

**Haha, yep. I realize that having you review a large story in order to get in a couple wasn't the smoothest move I could have done. So I'm going for a shorter one. Just more of a moment-capturing fic with Link and Lyn. **

**A quick note- Dearest Mystical, a loyal anonymous reviewer of mine, I hate to be the bad guy and embarrass you in front of everyone, but since you haven't an account I can't message you discreetly. Seeing as you reviewed the second chapter you'd know by now that you need to give a short review before I count your couples as legit, kay? Sorry I had to call you out here, I'd have preferred Pming you. Hope you don't think I'm mad or anything. **

**But just to stress, _IF YOU WANT YOUR COUPLE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR COMMISSION, I'D LIKE A REVIEW OF MY LATEST WORK. NOT NECESSARILY A DETAILED ONE, BUT AT LEAST 2 OR 3 LINES OF HOW THE STORY WAS SO WHEN AND IF I GET AROUND TO YOURS I GOT THAT TRINKET OF ADVICE SO THAT I DO RIGHT AND THAT SIGN OF DEDICATION THAT MY WORK WON'T GO IGNORED BY WHO I'M WRITING IT FOR. THANKS A MILLI. :D_**

**Now that I got that out of the way, let's get started on my latest story, _The First Page! _Yes it's in the third chapter but I really don't care. I always wanted to track that moment of where it all began with the epic adventure stories and meeting someone important. So I went for it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I regret nothing, I let them forget nothing.**

**Let's start the show!**

**oOooOoooOooIooOoooOooOo**

_**The First Page**_

_**a Link and Lyn story**_

_**for RawkHawk2.0 and WAIT**_

_**By MessengerOfDreams**_

**oOooOoooOooIooOoooOooOo**

Either Link had a penchant for adventure, or adventure had a penchant for him.

One way or another, he found himself out on the dusty trails pursuing a goal for the good of his people. He spent more time on those trails than he did at the home he defended. This time, though, he wasn't out on a quest to save the world. He was on a quest because he could.

The third Smash Bros Tournament had just recently ended, and he was actually quite glad to be home, and by home, he really meant 'not there.' The amount of chaos was quite a drastic change from someone who, aside from the adventures, lived a quiet life. The hootin' and the hollerin', back and forth with the arguin', who you are, where you're from, what you're make and what kind of car you're in.

Oh yes. It also warrants mentioning that Link had grown an odd fondness for rap music during his third stay, one of a grand total of probably about five modern things he could appreciate. Not that it changed him into a pimp, but good rap music was an art form he found an appreciation for that contrasted a lot of him and his life. He never fell into the status quo trap that was subtly in the ranks of the smashers. He just wanted to be him and battle with the best.

But, really, not much had changed with him. Even with a wardrobe change; he found a kilt and hat to be quite difficult to fight and do much activity with lately and exchanged it with a fit-for-the-outdoors bundled vest and pant. And he occasionally took out his cheap mp3 player to listen to some music. But he was still the same reserved, dedicated and self-confident warrior he always was and always would be.

Truly, after the tourneys ended and everything, it was nice just to return to one's roots. And that's what found him, in a time gratefully without warlocks to fight or temples to make an excursion through, to go on an adventure of his own accord.

And so he wandered north on the dusty trail in the hinterlands. He wore his more modern clothes, but his defensive equipment as well as his sleeping bag and other outdoor supplies lay in his old bag and his sword in his sheath next to it. A bluff created a wall to his immediate east and curved around towards the path a few miles away. To his west were the plains, full of wilted pale green and almost clear brown grass and occasional shrub. Occasional fruit trees lined some of the paths, untamed but welcome to all. It was a desert with fertile land in it. He liked it.

On purpose he had not brought a map. He didn't want to decide where he went just yet, but to let the luck of the draw guide him. Sure, he'd ask people he ran into occasionally where he was, but it wasn't that big a deal.

It had been three uneventful days since he had last been in any sort of township. The last one was Weathered Hills in Hyrule, towards the border. He was probably in a different land right now. The journey was getting a bit too aimless for his tastes, but he was living with it with no regret. It had allowed him to think, detox the life in the mansion. He appreciated having that.

He sighed with a melancholy content; although he was happy, he couldn't help but feel that something was missing; not to mention detoxing off the mansion's chaos was, to put it in best terms, a bitch (a word of modern vocabulary that he had learned, perhaps through his music.) Exhausting his soul but allowing his proper contents back in. Like jumping in a cold lake; freezing cold but refreshing.

He looked around at the fruit trees aligned on an intersecting dirt path, considering grabbing a bit of cherries from a row of cherry trees. Funnily, there were both fruit-bearing cherry trees and cherry blossoms. It seemed too coordinated to be a coincidence, so Link deduced that it must have been part of a farm. He walked over anyways to see a wooden sign before the crossing that read in white painted letters "Help Yourself To My Cherries." Link thought that a good enough and convenient enough sign to take one off of the vine.

The path that intersected with his own was intriguing to him, and since he had no set place to go, he decided to follow it. He had barely taken two steps down it when he heard a voice.

It was a female voice. Soft, low and laced with moderate cheer. He looked around to see its source; a young woman with long green hair and eyes to match, and dressed in a blue cloak that covered the length of her body, although she wore jeans underneath. She looked quite familiar, a thought that occurred as Link saw her reaching up with a Mani Katti- a sword he recognized very familiarly- to the top of the trees, as if she was trying to get some of the grapes off. The voice was somewhat robust, so he could hear her words clearly.

"Just a little more... almost got it..." she accented this with a leap, as if to reach higher. "Crikey. A little more that-a-way, and-" whatever self-encouraging words she had to say next were interrupted by a surprised, albeit bemused yelp as a large cluster of cherries fell on top of her, enough to make her stumble as she caught the branch. "Wow," was all she had as a response.

Link looked on in amused surprise as she shook a few blending leaves out of her hair and caught Link's line of sight! "Hello, traveler!" she greeted him with a smile and evenly upbeat words. "Could you use some cherries?"

Link nodded, not about to let them go to waste as he walked the ten-foot distance between them. Her smile broadened as she cut the branch straight down the middle cleanly, giving the smaller lopsided half to Link with a slight brush of the hand against his. Making nothing of it (while Link had gone slightly red; surprised by the gesture), she explained "I hope you don't mind the shorter half- didn't know how lopsided it was."

"No worries at all," he responded, his voice quiet as it tried to get used to conversation again.

She smiled, tucking her branch away in her brown knapsack. She gave Link a once-over and said "Say... that sword looks familiar. Where have I seen that before?"

So she thought him familiar as well. He must know her. "Perhaps you've heard of me," he replied. "Link of Hyrule. I have a reputation for being somewhat of a hero. I just got out of the Third Smash Tournament; considering the coverage of the event you may have seen me there."

A grin crept up on the girl's face as she held out a hand. "Of course! I was there too, as one of the assistants!" When Link, processing this information, didn't accept her handshake, she politely took his hand for him. "Lyndis of the Sacaen Plains. Part of the Fire Emblem United Lands. It's nice to see you again, Link, although it's a shame I'm now the only swordfighter from there wearing a skirt."

Normally jokes like that grated on Link, but Lyn had a presence that felt as if she meant no harm. She gave him the briefest of winks that he almost missed, and so he couldn't help but crack a grin. "It's nice to see you again, Lyndis."

"Oh, I prefer Lyn," she responded, looking away only as she uttered that sentence with non-accusatory disapproval. "Anyway, before you apologize, let me stop you and ask you what you're doing out here."

"Oh, err..." Link was caught off-guard a bit; sure Lyn was an acquaintance but he wasn't expecting that question on his journey. "I'm not really sure; I'm just letting the effects of the tournament wear off, I suppose."

"I understand," she took his hand and clearly thought nothing of it, and Link was learning to ease into it. Lyn was simply an affectionate person. "It was mildly, how to say, insane."

Link liked her analogy. "I agree on that one," he mumbled with a dry chuckle.

"I suppose I've been doing the same," she replied with a drawn-out sigh to accent her statement. "I'm closer to home than you, but it's still somewhat renewing."

"Where am I?" Link asked. "I haven't kept track."

Lyn laughed. "Myself neither, but yesterday it was within Crimea. I guess we'll work it out for ourselves later."

"Ourselves?"

Lyn blinked, and let his hand go. "Oh! Excuse me for being assumptive; would it be all right? If I traveled with you, I mean. It's been getting lonely and I'm a bit of a social butterfly and all." Her last half of the sentence was accented by a nervous chuckle, somewhat embarrassed by her mistake.

Link considered. He wasn't expecting company but he wasn't denying any either. It wasn't like Lyn would be a burden; she was a bit overeager, but polite and warm. "I'd enjoy that," he replied.

"Excellent!" Lyn grinned widely and, before Link could react, enveloped him in a happy embrace. She drew away, a hand on his shoulder without overwhelming, with little awkwardness and chuckled again "I apologize; I've noticed myself growing less... composed. I like it, though."

Link gave her a polite smile. "You needn't worry," he replied. He shifted his gaze to the sunset and stated "We should make camp. Brought any camping material?"

"Me? No, I'm a rather warm-blooded person. I don't really need to cover up. I prefer to lay under the stars."

"Huh." Quite the idealist, this girl. "Suit yourself."

"Boring," she teased. It seemed to Link that she held no barriers to anything; it was almost like she considered him a close friend already. "So, under the cherry blossom cluster over there?"

Link looked in the direction she was pointing. There was a group of cherry blossom trees by the base of the bluff wall. He thought it a nice retreat. "I like it. Shall we?"

As a response, she made a slight bound towards the area, and Link followed with a smile. This was going to be most interesting.

Making camp took a grand total of five minutes- Link set up his sleeping bag and Lyn gathered fallen sticks and branches for a fire, which with a bit of effort she was able to start. She relaxed a bit and allowed herself to bask in the warmth as Link brought out a small branch of cherries from his bundle. He tossed a couple to Lyn, who caught them instantaneously. _Fast reflexes, _he mused.

"I have a premonition," she declared, "that this is going to be the start of something great. Well, that's not saying much coming from an unyielding optimist such as myself, but I tend to believe it anyways."

"Might as well," he responded, under the base level of mirth.

Lyn wrinkled an eyebrow. "You don't agree?"

"No, I'm game for anything," he argued defensively.

"But do you hope so?"

There was a youthful expectancy in her gaze that made it hard to respond. "Erm..."

"Well, if you don't, do," her response had a level of discipline in it. "Because it makes it more fun."

Link spared a slight chuckle. "I... don't really know what to expect."

Lyn crept next to her companion, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Well, if you don't know what to expect," she lilted dreamily, "may as well expect the best. I mean, look at it." Admiring, she motioned towards the sky, night finishing its fall. "The stars, the moon, they could all have been blown out, but they're not. And I don't expect them to be. Because every one of them represents a possibility of what could happen. The stars are gorgeous, so I believe they are all good ones. I just gotta find them, and in order to find them, I've got to expect them. And I'm expecting them right now. I've already traveled a few weeks in that mindset and it's helped me relax a bit."

"Ah..." he rather liked her spirit and words. "I'll have to remember that."

"Please do."

She released her hold on him and reclined a foot away from him, and Link found the space to be somewhat empty. She sat in quiet, glazed contemplation towards the stars she loved so much. The minutes went by somewhat emptily, and Link found the emptiness to be somewhat disorienting. It was amazing how meeting someone after going alone for a month made such a difference. He felt a bit of reassurance at her presence, and acknowledged with a bit of exasperation how emotionally raw he must be right now.

Lyn spoke up to clear his thoughts. "Say, Link, how would you like to find a destination?"

"A what?"

"A goal. Somewhere to go. Instead of wandering with no end in sight."

"You have somewhere in mind, don't you?"

"You already know me so well," she chuckled, although it was more of an enchanted giggle. "You prepared for something outlandish?"

"I already was."

Lyn punched him in the elbow. "Of course you were. Well..." she hesitated but went on with a 'hell with it' shrug, "I always wanted to see the Fountain of Dreams."

"...that's in space."

"Literally outlandish."

"...that's in space."

"And space travel is a lot more common outside of here."

"...if you insist."

"If you're gonna do it," she regarded him with a stern glare, "then at least want to do it."

"I do, I do."

"Damn well better," a bit of lightheartedness returned to her words. "And I propose we take the long way to the Cornerian colony."

"That I can get behind. You wanna see the land of our world?"

"Of course. Through the fire and the flames, or through the mushroom trees and the fields of gold; the cities and the wilderness; the world is our oyster, after all."

Link found himself taking her hand, endeared by her enthusiasm. "Of course. Why do you want to go to the Fountain of Dreams?"

"Really..." Lyn looked away, somewhat embarrassed. "...I think it'd be nice to go as far away from everything I know and then contemplate what to do with it all, among the dreams and the stars. The real thing, too- not the boarded up stage model."

Link remembered fondly his fights on the stage in the second tournament- there were some things he could be fond of from the experience. The second tournament was somewhat relaxed, though, which he attributed to less romantic tension. Probably due to lack of Ike. He urged himself to let the thoughts of the mansion go. The thoughts of Zelda hand-in-hand with the swordsman.

Lyn looked at him knowingly, and on instinct wrapped an arm around his chest and drew him close to her in a sideways embrace which he accepted without ceremony. "It'll be good for you, too," she tenderly whispered into his pointed ear.

Link smiled at her words and the obvious care she had in them. Quietly, he moved out of her arm and went towards his sleeping bag. "I'm going to head in for the night."

"Of course," she replied, unfazed. "I should do the same." She crawled over next to him and gave him one last hug. "Sleep well, Link," she told him comfortingly. Link was a bit fazed on how well she picked up on his feelings but awkwardly returned the hug.

Lyn frowned a bit out of Link's gaze, but deduced that she'd get him to warm up to her affectionate ways. She let him go and watched as he crept into his sleeping bag, burying his face into the built-in pillow. She lay on the patch of grass, a petal falling on her face. She liked moments that were picture perfect like that.

With a short prayer to a god she didn't know the identity of, she closed her eyes, put Link's headphones in her ears, turned on the player and relaxed.

All the burrowing in his pillow in the world wouldn't get him to sleep that night.

He knew he should have kept it off his mind, damn it. The thoughts of the woman he was sorting out his feelings for in the arms of another just after he could get his thoughts together and tell her he loved her. It was just plain dumb luck slapping him in the face. Oh, well. He'd never get past it if he hid it away. But he didn't want to get past it now. He wanted to sleep, damn it.

He adjusted himself so that he was looking to his right, and he noticed that Lyn was asleep, the lone cherry blossom petal floating just above her nose with every breath. She still had a smile on her face, unfazed even in her dreams. He looked at her with a smile, wishing he had her fortitude. His gaze adjusted to something familiar- was that...

Hah, the rascal. Swiped his music player. Surprising that she knew how to use such technology as he hadn't pegged her as the traced the headphone cord to the little capsule she had placed on her chest, moving up and down with it every other second in coordination with her heartbeat. When he strained a bit, he could hear his favorite rap song playing out of the buds; _Live Your Live _by TI. He deduced that it must have switched there as she slept, but relaxed in the sound of secondhand music.

Gingerly, he removed the headphone from her right ear and awkwardly placed it in his left. It didn't quite fit, but it was good enough. He let the reassuring music play in his ear in order to relax off to sleep.

In the ear turned away from her, he heard Lyn whisper "I love that song." He glanced over in surprise to see a very much awake Lyn, eyes still closed but mouth still moving with the song. "Hey-ayyyyaaaya, just living my life."

Out of earshot, he sang in coordination with her quiet, mirthful tones. She had a nice voice, as gentle and uplifting as the woman herself. He looked at the stars, and back at her, and deduced that she was onto something with her premonition. He had a feeling this was the start of something magnificent. The first page to his best story yet.

And it was.

**A/N- I hope Lyn's not too out-of-character. I know she's good-hearted and optimistic but she seemed more balanced than this, but it was somewhat intentional, as you've read. **

**I drew inspiration from Link's situation on the times where I get away to just mentally dump all my emotions out and sort through them like possessions spilled out of a knapsack. Happens once a season at least, and the shift is evident in my writing- starting with Sparks I went through a phase where I wrote from a more philosophical standpoint, which has come back to me tenfold in reward. **

**As always, I hope you enjoy this. I am actually considering making a full-length story with this but I'm not sure if I wanna add that to my other stuff. I really am drawn into this quite a bit, though, moreso than a long time. Sure, I have stories I like just as much, if not more, but this has more potential for a story than anything I've had in a long time. You never know.**

**There you go, RawkHawk, and as for my next pairing, I've not decided yet. I'm leaning towards Ganondorf and Jigglypuff, oddly, but then again, I may be adventurous and go for Marth and Ike, my first yaoi pairing discounting How to be SucKsessful. I may take something from newer reviews and do that; just be sure to, you know, review.**

**Again, Mystical, I'd appreciate a review and then gladly accept your suggestions. No hard feelings and thanks for the loyalty! Highly appreciated!**

**Have a nice day and look for the contest on the 17th!**

**MoD**


	4. To Describe My Love

**A/N I'm gonna keep this vague and leave the couple at the bottom, as well as the majority of the author's notes- I think the story works better not knowing or piecing it together as you go. Just know that their interpretations are different here even from my prior works.**

_**To Describe My Love...**_

You ask me to describe the one I love to you. I can only imagine why- someone like me falling in love? What kind of insane, criminal woman is this after my own heart? Well, it may be different from what you think, so I suppose I'll describe for you.

My love has the personality of one who defies her appearance. While most associate her with weakness and lightness, she is very strong as a person. She carries on as someone who knows the ways of the world but isn't going to write a sorrowful sonnet or a joyful symphony about it. She simply knows that life is the way it is. We are born, we live, and we die. She doesn't take immense sorrow about the darker instances of life although she will mourn when necessary, for which I am grateful, and she does not overreact to the happy things, even though she will enjoy them, which I also admire. She knows that the structure of life is the way that it is and even if we were to take over the world that would not change.

Really helps keep my outlandish desires rooted in realism, which it needs.

Unbeknownst to many people, she does talk. I remember, in fact, the first time she spoke to me. I was running down the hall, none too fast, infuriated as ever, when I bumped into her and fell on the ground, aggravating me further.

"Watch where you're going, you impertinent brat!" I growled in anger, using long, harsh words in an effort to scare her away. She collected herself off of the ground and replied "No matter how high above us you think you are, you still fall like the rest of us. You should remember that." There was no mocking insolence in her tone, just the tone one would have while stating "The coffee is ready."

The fact that she spoke was not lost on me but not my focus, since her words had caught me off guard, and I covered this fact with anger. "How dare you!" I shouted. "You shall never make fun of me like that, you fool!" My words were clumsily strung together in an attempt at fear, but she was unmoved.

"Really, it's a basic fact," she continued, about as emotionally invested in this as one would be whilst reading the phone book. "You have two legs, therefore you will occasionally fall. This could be prevented by looking around to make sure you're clear of all obstacles, in this case, me. It'll be better for the both us, rest assured. You have a nice day now, okay?"

I was mystified by how she stated her words, as if she didn't mean any harm, but mostly just by how she was smart enough not to antagonize me further, as if she knew she did not want to see me set off. What truly mystified me was that I could not tell whether she was trying to protect herself from my wrath or simply did not want to see me angrier.

"Wait!" I called as she walked away. She whirled around and beckoned for me to follow, which I did, and she led me out to the mansion's deck. We took a seat under the stars, which made no difference to me at the time, but even now thinking back, I feel a rare case of sentimentality on its memory. She descended to the ground on the edge of the porch, where there was no railing to protect her from a fall. I clunked to a seat right next to her, for one of the few times in my life unsure of what to do.

She looked at me with a coy smile. "Yes?" she asked politely, curious by my presence of all people.

"...you talk," I stated lamely this obvious fact.

"I think that's been made known," she replied, looking over the forest just before us, breaking into a clearing for a front lawn and a stone pathway that lead right up to the front door of our illustrious mansion. I didn't find anything interesting about it, but observed it all again anyways.

"...why don't you talk more?" I asked in puzzlement.

"The million dollar question," she replied in the disinterested tone. "But truly, I don't feel anyone here worth my time. They all take a look at me and see this weak, adorable, fluffy person and that's the end of it. Judgmental people annoy me, so I figured that if I wouldn't have a conversation with them outside of here, then I may as well not have one here either." She blinked and added "It's probably flawed logic but doesn't really make a difference one way or another."

"...so why did you talk to me?"

"You owe me a couple questions at least," she warned me in slight amusement. "But, truly, I figured you didn't really care either way. You're quite like I. You don't really care for people here, but you make it well known and blast it out, so I figured you wouldn't care one way or another whether I talked to you, so I did." She chuckled and added "Apparently you do."

I was hung up at the statement of her and I being similar. "You and I, alike?" I roared menacing laughter. "Pardon me, but I don't expect to look in my mirror and see you on the other side."

"If you're looking for someone like you in a physical object you're not going to get anywhere."

I didn't respond to that. Somewhere I knew she was right, and my ego knew the same. However, it didn't want to admit it just yet and tried to eliminate any thought process on the statement.

"Now, as for my questions," she continued, snapping me back to reality, "for one, what's got you in such a rage... this time?" There was a sneaky glint in her eye as she decided for tacking on those last two words, but I didn't bother reacting to it and instead focusing on her question.

"That damned Link," I grumbled in anger.

"Ah," she replied in indifferent understanding; she knew that Link and I didn't get along. "What about this time?"

"Agh..." I threw my hands up in the air. "If I told you all the reasons he pissed me off, we'd be out here all night."

"Fair enough, just know that if it's not gonna change, you may as well not bother being around him here. You're here to exert your skill as a fighter, not destroy your enemies. Think of this as a macabre vacation; on vacation you don't call in your boss and ask him to shout at you about the copy machine."

More indifference; I'd come to find that her most wise advice would often be spoken as if she did not know it was wise; like it was common knowledge. But she was incredibly wise.

"And two, what brings you out here after me?" she asked with her coy smile returning.

"Hey!" I caught on to something. "This is your third question! I don't have to answer this!"

"The second one got pretty much no response, so I didn't count it."

"If I shot two bullets and hit both my targets, and you shot two bullets and did not match that, you don't get extra bullets until you can match me and call it fair."

"Cognitive point," she replied, a hint of interest in my words. "So I suppose you'd like another question?"

"I'd like you to leave me alone," I insisted.

"Then why did you follow me out here?" she shot back with no trace of anger. "You may take that as either a rhetoric or as my third question I'd like to ask you."

I wore an angered smirk, but that was to cover up the gears of my brain sputtering as they realized as a system that they had no way to react to that. I turned around and started to head back in."

"...doesn't mean I wouldn't like your company," she stated, her voice taken a bit of melancholy, as if should I go inside she would be disappointed. Normally, I'd take this and go in feeling accomplished, but I didn't want to make her feel bad. This is a feeling I've only had with her, and so I turned back around and sat back down. She granted me another coy smile before we started to talk.

My intention was not to go into a long winded flash back, but this was pretty much a summary of how I felt when I met her. I felt confused, different, intrigued, and often outsmarted, all by someone who talked as if it would have little impact. And she's fascinated me.

The more we talked over the coming weeks, at unplanned, occasional times, the more I realized what an enigma she was. She had mentioned a dream she had to sing, but how physical inhibitors kept her from pursuing it. She did not speak bitterly of this, but as something that had happened and that had passed, and she was on to the next goal- as soon as she should find it. This intrigued me- if my dream were to collapse, and it's near unobtainable as it is- it would leave me hollow, purposeless.

And that's what I asked her. "Do you at least feel like you have no purpose right now?"

"Frank question," she replied. "But if I had no purpose, I'd be dead."

Another intelligent, wise answer that was again spoken in the same indifference that almost seemed like naivete, but she had such a smart intent that she could never truly be as naïve as she looked. The more we talked, the more I realized that I wanted to figure out that enigma.

So I tried taking her places; to activities that would make her happy, no matter how much it annoyed me. I asked her if there was anywhere she'd always wanted to go; she stated that the boardwalk was a place she meant to go by but never found the time to. I took this to heart and made sure that I could clear a hole in her schedule through one way or another, and I got some money together, some directions and a means of transportation through a car I was learning how to drive, and the next weekend I invited her with me.

As I led her to the car towards the secret destination, she was a bit wary, but I let her know that I meant no harm. I was surprised that she left it at that and proceeded through to the mystery location.

When I pulled up to a parking location towards the beach, I saw that she had smiled in some sort of recognition. I opened her door for her in a grandeur gesture, and she hopped out, taking in the sights of the boardwalk with her smile growing. When she smiled, I truly felt a sense of accomplishment- usually if I see a smile I feel like I'm not doing a good enough job. But she looked out in a case of awe that was balanced as she was, and I felt that I was truly getting places.

"You're a pretty cool guy, you know that?" she told me as we started towards the boardwalk. I found myself grinning at the compliment and at the speed she bounded down the boardwalk.

We took in as much of the boardwalk as we could- sure, she never liked the rides, but we played some games and took in the scenery, and enjoyed some of that cotton candy stuff- well, she enjoyed, I got annoyed at the sticky, ungodly substance and threw it into the water. She blinked in surprise and then had a good laugh at my reaction. She was poking some fun at me, but I couldn't be angry about it. She had that look of happiness still and I realized I'd feel terrible for taking it from her.

At the end of the day, I realized that aside from some happiness, not much changed with her, and I secretly was frustrated that I had not unlocked any more of the enigma. I did try at other points, while not as grand, but it seemed I made little progress.

I remember after our matches one day I walked towards her on our way out of the stadium, and without a trace of fear, I told her "Really, you need not hide things from me, you know."

She nodded, an eyebrow raised. "I know this, and rest assured I have not. While my views are definitely abstract, I have no reason to hide, for you are much more intelligent than most other people here." She fixed the bow in her hair and added "I hope you know you can do the same with me."

I actually stopped in my steps, astonished on many levels. What I saw as an enigma was anything but; it was what she truly was. And I also realized that I was the one creating an enigma; not daring to open the shades to my mind and let in the light.

I looked at her sincerely; she had stopped with an intrigued smile when she noticed I stopped. "I... love you," I blurted. "And this is something, coming from me, of all people, but I mean that."

She nodded, her smile crafted out of satisfaction now. "I really don't think it makes a difference who those words come from," she stated, "but it's an honor that I am the object of your love, and truly, I love you just as much."

She looked up at me with a smile, and I grinned, telling her "Thank you." And then we walked on, and went on with our day.

We were never intimate, for many reasons, and I never found that I needed that in our relationship. I knew that many people were wondering what kind of relationship she and I could possibly have, being who we were, but not only did I hate almost everyone there, I had learned that I need not look through a mirror to see what people should be around me, or who are good around me.

Another thing that I loved about her was that she was true to her word; when she was frustrated, she let me know about it. What was an honor was that I was the only one she would ever tell.

She walked into my dark, lonely room, a couple of tears in her large eyes and anger in her voice. She let out a short, shrill scream and slammed the door as she vented.

"You don't seem happy," I quipped into my book.

"Of course I'm not!" she grunted back as she punched into a wall, hardly making a dent. She looked at me expectantly, and I caught on.

"Well, what the hell happened?" I asked, putting my book down and facing her.

"Those crazy psychic kids and their friends got a hold of me and decided I'd be an excellent plaything for their violent games," she growled, her tears flowing a bit more.

"Where are they?" I leapt up, willing to face them head on.

"Leave them be," she sighed, letting out another frustrated shriek. "I know they're just being dorks, but do they really think that I'm not even remotely aware that they're kicking me? Those idiots!" She kicked my dresser and I let her because I knew she'd barely scratch it. "I'm a real, living thing! I feel like a living thing, and I act like a living thing, and last I checked, living things don't like to be abused!" Each of the last seven words were accented by a punch onto a pillow this time, and she ended her rant by collapsing onto the pillow and crying genuine tears and sobs for about... twelve seconds... before she took a breath and calmed down, taking a seat by my side.

"Thanks for listening," was all she said, and I noticed that she had leaned closer to my side, and I allowed her to, wrapping an arm around her. And that's where it ended. But when she came in so upset, and wanted me to hear her out... it felt like I had really connected to another soul.

That's perhaps what got me most. She doesn't judge by any backstory circumstances, appearances or rumors. Whether in brushing off or in acceptance, she determines people by their true actions. She sees us as souls as a base, and then constructs us as we truly are by what we give her or what she can truly see in person.

She really was much more brilliant than she ever let on.

And I find it so amazing, every day, how much of a difference she has made. My motives are still questionable, and with others I am still often intolerant. She has not made me into a friendly, skipping person or made my heart grow three sizes, but she provides a companion, which I never knew I needed, and has made its mark in a way I never would have predicted.

The last time I saw her was last night, as usual. The same place we met. I still allowed her close to me despite their still being the boundary neither of us wanted to cross. She almost buried herself into my side, and I rested my arm around her, and it felt... nice. I didn't care what Link was doing or who was getting into my stuff or anything. Right now was all I wanted to focus on.

She looked up at me and said "I really do love you, you know that?"

"I do," I replied, chuckling, "and I love you just as much."

And that made all the difference.

And that is how I describe my love. She is intelligent, open, opinionated and never acts like the wise, advanced person she truly is.

That's all that matters.

**A/N And that concludes _To Describe My Love. _You may be interested to learn that I kept my title for the story down here.**

**oOooOoooOooIooOoooOooOo**

_**To Describe My Love**_

_**Featuring Ganondorf and Jigglypuff**_

_**For Souldin**_

_**By MessengerOfDreams**_

**oOooOoooOooIooOoooOooOo**

**Now you may take this however you want; I have left their loving relationship up to your determination and deliberately took out descriptions of her looks- it was an interesting take to explore love past the physical, something I wanted to pursue, so much that whilst reading some poetry whilst studying, I decided I was going to write this. I still have Snakus and Marth/Ike pieces halfway in development. I have seriously gotta fulfill those obligations, but I've been compelled to write these spur of the moment ideas.**

**I hope that you enjoyed this work and send in more pairings! I will still take your pairings into consideration despite the fact that I'm a bit behind. :3**

**MoD**

**P.S. The contest... any day now... I swear. XD**


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